Bright ideas seldom lead to happy endings in the movie business. Occasionally an exception defies the odds — with delightful results.

Such was the case with “Beau Jest,” a charming, family-friendly romantic comedy based on James Sherman’s 1989 play about a nice Jewish girl who resorts to extraordinary measures to please her parents and still have the man of her dreams.

The plot: Sarah Goldman, a young, Jewish school teacher, is dating Chris, whose only flaw in her parents’ eyes is that he isn’t Jewish. Thus, Sarah invents the perfect boyfriend and delights her parents with stories about the man of her mother’s dreams.

When her parents insist on meeting her “beau,” Sarah resorts to desperate measures.

Enter Bob, an actor, to play the part. Oy vey.

Sherman directed the comedy that features a few familiar faces, such as stage and film veterans Lainie Kazan, Seymour Cassel and Willie Garson (from “Sex & the City”), along with Robyn Cohen, Greg Cromer and Tony Daly.

“Beau Jest” is one of five excellent reasons to attend the 10th anniversary edition of the Mobile Jewish Film Festival presented by the Mobile Area Jewish Federation, Jewish Cinema South and the University of South Alabama, Jan. 9-16 at Laidlaw Performing Arts Center and other area venues.

Mobile is one of three sites for Jewish Cinema South’s 2010-2011 series. Other venues are Baton Rouge, La. (Jan. 19-23) and Jackson, Miss. (Jan. 22-25). Here is the Mobile lineup:

David Newton is executive producer of “Beau Jest,” which closes the festival on a light and humorous note. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s motion picture program.

“I graduated in 1976 but never went into the business,” Newton says via e-mail. “I was installing cabinets to get through school and, (after) graduation, started my own cabinet company. So, for 20 years I was in that business and did very well. Tiring of that, I closed the business and invested in real estate, again doing very well.”

Having been involved with theater, Newton and his wife Sandy saw the play “Beau Jest” at a local theater in 1992. They saw it again in 2002.

The poignant film "Noodle" will be screened during the 10th annual Mobile Jewish Film Festival. (Courtesy Jewish Cinema South)

“Both times I said, ‘This would make a great movie!’” Newton recalls. “We were visiting my brother in New York and told him about the play. ‘How would you like to make a movie, Dan?’” I asked. ‘It’s just a long commercial!’” (Dan produced corporate films and commercials.)

“I came home from that trip and decided to either put up or shut up,” Newton says. “I found out who wrote ‘Beau Jest’ (James Sherman) and wrote to him care of the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, where the play was first performed. A few days later I came home and Sandy said, ‘Some guy named James Sherman called.’

“I told her what I had done and very nervously called Jim. I told him how much I liked the play and asked about making a movie of it. He told me he just had an option lapse, so we flew to Chicago and met. Jim is the nicest, down-to- earth guy. We hit it off, and after further discussions put a deal together in 2005. He would direct the film and my brother Dan would produce and film it.”

They filmed in Chicago and Utah (Newton’s home) in August 2006 over three and a half weeks. Another year was devoted to post-production.

“Jim always laughs about the fact that he couldn’t get the movie made in Hollywood by Jewish producers,” Newton says. “They said it was too Jewish! But (he) was able to get two Mormon brothers to make his Jewish movie. He calls me his Mormon mensch. I hope that’s something good!”

Newton says he loves the story of “Beau Jest.”

“It is about family,” he says, “and Mormons believe in the sanctity and importance of family.”

The film has been well received among Jewish and Mormon audiences and has played in festivals all over the United States. It premiered in Israel in October 2009.

“We hired actors from Los Angeles and put together a great cast,” Newton says. “Jim and three of the actors — Robyn, Lainie and Willie — are Jewish. Robyn is delightful; Lainie is the perfect Jewish mother; and Willie sparks his role with ad libs that fit so well we kept them.”

Willie is in the series “White Collar” currently running on USA Network.

“Greg Cromer we see in commercials all the time,” Newton says. “Lainie, being the great singer she is, is singing all over the country at special events. Robyn does a lot of plays in Southern California. Seymour was perfect at the climax of the film when he says, ‘You don’t lie to your parents.’ Tony Daly is so good-looking and plays the part perfectly. One of the great lines of the show is his: ‘There’s the truth and there’s everything else.’”

The film festival opens Jan. 9 with a showing of the documentary “Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story,” which examines the remarkable life of Greenspun, a charismatic newspaperman, Las Vegas icon and real-life Zelig.

“His epic journey from associate of mobster Ben “Bugsy” Siegel to hero of Israel to maverick founder of the Las Vegas Sun — and its long-running ‘Where I Stand’ column — features a motley crew of high-rolling businessmen and gangsters, movie stars, politicians, family and wheeler-dealer friends,” according to a Jewish Cinema South news release.

Goldstein will attend the Jan. 9 screening to discuss the film at Springhill Avenue Temple, 1769 Springhill Ave. Popcorn and movie snacks will be served.

A moment from "Saviors in the Night." (Courtesy Jewish Cinema South)

The festival will continue Jan. 11 with the Holocaust survival story “Saviors in the Night,” based on the memoirs of Marga Spiegel. The film reveals how courageous German farmers hid Spiegel, her husband and their daughter from 1943 until 1945, saving them from deportation to Nazi extermination camps. “Saviors” was named Best Feature Film at the Pittsburgh and Cleveland Jewish Film Festivals.

The poignant documentary “The Last Survivor,” which will be shown Jan. 12, profiles four genocide survivors and their struggle to make sense of tragedy by working to educate a new generation about the horrors that must be averted. Shot on location in five countries across four continents, the film focuses on the universality of the horror of genocide.

The Israeli feature “Noodle” (Jan. 13) tells the story of Miri, a single, Israeli flight attendant whose life changes when her Chinese housekeeper leaves her young son with Miri and does not return. Despite the language barrier, Miri tries to reunite the boy she dubs “Noodle” with his mother.

The 10th anniversary presentation of the Mobile Jewish Film Series follows tradition with a strong educational component. Filmmaker Alexandra Zapruder will lead an educators workshop from 4 until 6 p.m. Jan. 10 at Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. The workshop is co-sponsored by the festival and the Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

Zapruder directed the film “I’m Still Here” and is author of “Salvaged Pages.” Both works are based on children’s Holocaust diaries.

Zapruder also will screen her “I’m Still Here” for students at Bayside Academy, Murphy High School and UMS/Wright Preparatory School. For guest tickets, contact the Mobile Area Jewish Federation at 251-343-7197 or e-mail mobileareajewish@bellsouth.net.